“The guy was dying. By the way they were going to take him off television, then he started attacking me and he started doing better,” Trump was quoted as saying.

Colbert – no fan of Trump’s — lashed out at the president May 1 with an extremely blue joke involving the Republican and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The joke generated controversy, with some saying it was beyond the pale.

Colbert, an actor and comedian who studied at Northwestern University, has not backed down.